Featured Interview With Kathryn Meyer Griffith
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Since childhood I’ve been an artist and worked as a graphic designer in the corporate world and for newspapers for twenty-three years before I quit to write full time. But I’d already begun writing novels at 21, over forty-four years ago now, and have had twenty-four (romantic horror, horror, romantic SF horror, suspense, time travel, historical romance, thrillers, and murder mysteries) previous novels, two novellas and twelve short stories published from Zebra Books, Leisure Books, Avalon Books, The Wild Rose Press, Damnation Books/Eternal Press. But I’ve gone into self-publishing in a big way since 2012; and upon getting all my 24 books’ full rights back for the first time in 33 years, have self-published all of them. My Dinosaur Lake novels and Spookie Town Mysteries (Scraps of Paper, All Things Slip Away and Ghosts Beneath Us) are my best-sellers.
I’ve been married to Russell for thirty-eight years; have a son and two grandchildren and I live in a small quaint town in Illinois. We have a quirky cat, Sasha, and the three of us live happily in an old house in the heart of town. Though I’ve been an artist, and a folk/classic rock singer in my youth with my brother Jim, writing has always been my greatest passion, my butterfly stage, and I’ll probably write stories until the day I die…or until my memory goes.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Truthfully, what started me off as an author was simply this: As a child, about eight or nine years old (the same time I began to draw pictures in pencil and years before I began to dream about being a singer with my younger brother Jim), I began reading books, science fiction, historical romances and scary books from the library. I had six brothers and sisters and though I had a loving mother and father, a loving family, there was very little money. I can’t say we were poverty poor, but we were poor at times. Sometimes our meals were scarce and we never had extra money for many toys or outside entertainment. I think in my whole young childhood my father only took us out to eat once. Try paying for seven kids and two adults. So we learned to entertain ourselves. We played outside, climbed trees and hid in deep dirt gullies. We sang, howled really, outside at night on the swing set.
I loved to read. The library books were free and plentiful. I’d sit on my bed, especially during the long summer days and evenings (after chores were done, of course) and read one amazing book after another and if I was lucky, with a chocolate snack or cherry Kool-Aid nearby. Those books, those words on the page, took me away to other places, times and worlds. It was magical. I got lost in people-on-a-spaceship-going–to-some-faraway-planet science fiction books. There was this one horse book when I was a kid that knocked me out, made me cry, and laugh with joy at the end it was so real to me and so full of pathos because I loved horses so much. It was called Smoky. I loved that book. Sigh. I never forgot how those wonderful books made me feel…so free. So adventurous. So rich. Like I could be or do anything someday. And when I grew up I wanted to create that magic myself for others. So…that’s why I began writing. And when I get depressed over my writing at times, I remember that.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love traditional horror without a lot of gore, sex or bad language. I also love a good romantic time-travel (ancient Egypt or long past England) or a cozy murder mystery. I like stories about dinosaurs (and I wrote 4 in my Dinosaur Lake series). Of course, my favorite writers are horror writers like Stephen King, Dean Koontz or early Anne Rice. But I love any thriller/horror/adventure fiction novels that are well-written.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Dinosaur Lake IV: Dinosaur Wars is the fourth and final of my Dinosaur Lake thriller series. It is my 24th published novel (I’ve been writing now for over 45 years and published since 1984). The series has been my best seller the last five years. The series is about cunning and hungry dinosaurs loose at Crater Lake, Oregon (and the surrounding towns…but by 4th book the dinosaurs are all over the world) and how the Chief Ranger and his friends fight and win against them. The series is in eBooks everywhere, paperbacks and audio books. It’s kid friendly, too, as I don’t use any harsh language, not too much gore and no sex. Look here for more information:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LZS35DY http://tinyurl.com/jzycl39
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Kathryn Meyer Griffith’s Website
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